AJAX -- It should come as no surprise, but add another example to the long and growing list of occasions when a mother knew what was best for her daughter.

The latest inclusion comes courtesy of the Campbell household, where mom, Claudia, had an inkling that her daughter, Taijah, would be better at basketball than soccer. Her intuition proved correct recently when Taijah signed a letter of intent with Virginia Tech University, where she will be on a basketball scholarship for the next four years beginning in the fall.

"My mom was a firm believer and always thought I should play basketball," recalls the younger Campbell of being encouraged to make the switch from kicking a soccer ball to dribbling a basketball. "She supported me playing soccer and sacrificed for me to do whatever, but she always knew, I guess you could call it motherly instincts, she just knew I should be playing basketball.

"I kind of agreed to it that maybe she was right."

The Ajax resident was a late bloomer in basketball, not taking it seriously until Grade 10. Campbell started high school at Ajax, but transferred to Pickering to be part of their basketball program. It was after playing in a tournament in North Carolina with her club team, the Advantage Titans, that notions of pursuing basketball at the next level came to light.

"I came back and I was getting letters" from school in the United States, says the 18 year old. "I really didn't think I was that good, so I was a little shocked that I could actually go somewhere with this. I think that's when it hit me that I could take this further."

By the time she reached her senior season at Pickering, Campbell had 10-20 suitors looking to entice her to their NCAA program. She narrowed it down to two, Virginia Tech and Pepperdine, visiting the campus of both schools. It was the trip to Virginia Tech that ultimately sealed her commitment.

"Virginia Tech just seemed really comfortable, like I had already been there. It seemed like a big family," she says. "The thing that stood out to me was that a lot of people who worked at the school had actually gone there and loved the atmosphere and decided to return. That really stood out to me and I liked that."

An athletic player who can run the floor and is defensively strong, Campbell will fit right into the Hokies program, says coach Dennis Wolff.

"We are very happy to welcome Taijah to the Virginia Tech family," he was quoted as saying on the school's website. "She is an athletic forward with very good defensive instincts."

Listed as six foot three, Campbell has provincial, national and international experience, representing Canada at the Pan-Am Games. She helped Pickering to the LOSSA championship this season.

When she's not on the court, Campbell will be in the classroom majoring in psychology, hoping to be a sports psychologist one day. Like anyone on the verge of a new experience, she is excited but apprehensive at the same time.

"I'm really excited. I just want to get there and meet everybody and start training," she says, adding, "But I'm really nervous because it's different down there. I'm so far from home, I don't have my mom to come back home to after a hard practice or if I'm stressed out about something.